


Manifest

by BadTemptress



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Accidents, Apex Games, Arguing, Awkward Conversations, Drunkenness, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/F, Face Punching, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, King's Canyon, Lifelore, Medical, Minor Injuries, One Shot Collection, Partying, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Stitches, World's Edge, more characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, separate stories that eventually connect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:22:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23559058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadTemptress/pseuds/BadTemptress
Summary: Contrary to what the Apex Games' audience believed, most legends did not like each other.Bangalore especially doesn't like Lifeline.(Until, eventually, she does.)
Relationships: Bangalore | Anita Williams/Lifeline | Ajay Che
Comments: 17
Kudos: 53





	1. Accidents Happen

**Author's Note:**

> Title has no relation to the story other than it happened to be the name of the song I was listening to while posting this :P
> 
> This story is meant to be a collection of oneshots, most of which not being related to each other, that will ideally lead up to a Lifelore romance. Whether or not I get to that point will remain to be seen :)
> 
> M rating is for possible smut/violence later on.

The accident wasn’t her fault.

Wait, no, rephrase that. The accident _was_ her fault, but the way the accident came about to happen wasn’t. It was a domino effect and Bangalore happened to knock over the first domino. The ‘domino’ being shoving Lifeline into Wraith’s portal as it opened and following quickly after, where Bangalore, after several moments of traveling through another dimension at light speed, witnessed the strict aftermath of knocking over that first domino.

“Get me outta ‘ere!”

Bangalore stared at Lifeline, immobilized and partially-translucent inside Wraith’s portal. The blue outline gripped onto her with a thousand fingers, keeping her wretched into place in a state of both being in this dimension and _not_. Wraith stood by, bleeding and riddled with holes, but thankfully still healthy enough to fiddle with her backpack in search of medical supplies.

“This usually only happens to Pathfinder,” Wraith deadpanned, plopping down onto the snowy ground of Epicenter. She needed D.O.C for a full heal and their medic was down for the count. Bangalore wasn’t doing too hot either; the bullet that had entered her side needed to be removed before she could administer a syringe to close the wound.

“This happened before?” Normally, Anita didn’t ask dumb questions, but this was strange enough that she couldn’t help it. Her brain was having a hard time processing Lifeline. A part of her looked solid, but the other, the one grabbed by the thousands of blue tendrils, looked like her hand would pass through her if she tried to touch her. Even in her time in the IMC Bangalore never tried to understand the workings of Phase Shift Technology; the scientists behind it barely understood it.

But, it was hard not to think about it when it was right in front of her, and damn was it making her head hurt something awful.

“Several times,” Wraith said.

Lifeline grunted, wriggling her free arm, waving a shield cell around like it would help anchor her to something, “let’s stop talkin’ ‘bout how many times it happened and instead talk ‘bout how we _get me the fuck outta this!”_

The hiss of a syringe activating punctuated Wraith’s footsteps on the grass. With it stuck in her arm she examined Lifeline up close. Bangalore took the chance to post as sentry, scanning the snowy landscape. The large drill tower was a few hundred meters away, and the nearest loot was three bins posted next to a vehicle. If anyone was making a loot run, they wouldn’t spot them. They had time.

“So, how did Che get stuck?” Bangalore asked. She scoped across the grasslands with her sentinel. A group moving east, too far for a pot-shot.

“I phased out a second before Lifeline did, didn’t have time to move. The portal tried to take her back and then you came out and stopped that from happening. An unfortunate series of events, really,” Wraith said calmly. It contrasted with Lifeline’s frustrated grunts and growls, and for the first time Bangalore realized just how much she would be hearing about this later.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that her and Lifeline didn’t get along. Lifeline was with the frontier militia medical corps and Bangalore was an IMC that sent people down to her clinics and morgues. Like water and oil, they didn’t mix. It didn’t help that Lifeline seemed adamant on shaming her for her service-- like hell she would be ashamed; Bangalore served and did her family proud and there was nothing to regret, no matter what Lifeline seemed to think.

It created tension that, at first, Bangalore couldn’t care less about. That quickly changed when she was matched up with her for this season of the Apex Games, and therefore made to share a suite with her and Wraith for the two weeks prior to the games. That wasn’t a fun experience. The medic was passive aggressive and downright insane at times. 

Bangalore heard the distinctive _thwarp_ of Wraith phasing, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned around in time to see her blue trail moving about, weaving in and out of the portal and Lifeline, until the trail became more sporadic and Wraith reappeared in between them, effectively launching Lifeline out of the portal and her through it. Instincts worked before her head could and Bangalore leapt forward to catch her. One arm ended up beneath her stomach, the other on her shoulder, twisting her body into a position that sent fire through the wound in her abdomen. Gritting her teeth, she squeezed the skin beneath her fingers and husked out:

“I got you.”

A slender body rotated in her hands. Hazel eyes met hers, the freckled face it belonged to confused. Bangalore couldn’t help but stare back, surprised Lifeline was even letting her hold her.

Confusion turned to indigation.

“Get off me!”

Lifeline shoved herself out of Bangalore’s grip, falling onto the snow. So much for that. Bangalore grunted as she stood up straight, touching her side. Her glove came back sticky with blood. The look on Lifeline’s face screamed ‘don’t even ask me’, though, and so she didn’t, watching as she got up and dusted the snow off her baggy green pants.

_Thwip!_

Wraith exited the portal, the blue-black hole ceasing to be afterwards. The gray strait-jacket she wore had a few new red stains on it.

“Whole squad is down,” she announced with a small smile. “five left.”

“Least yuh didn’t cost us the top five, huh Annie?” Lifeline spat, fumbling with the large pouch on her side that contained her field medkit.

“Don’t call me that,” she hated that nickname with fiery passion, “get this lead out of my side.”

“Say please for once.”

“I got shot because of you.”

“Ring’s closing in,” Wraith’s voice cut in through the arguing and drew the two’s attention to the fragments of Capitol City. Slowly but surely, a red haze descended over it, ETA 5 minutes. A quick glance at her interface pad told Bangalore that they had to get moving now if they wanted to stay out of the ring.

“We’ll get it out later,” Lifeline huffed and started jogging, leaving Wraith and Bangalore behind. An apologetic look was shot her way before Wraith took off along with her, leaving Bangalore behind.

Growling, she yanked a syringe out of her backpack, stabbing it into her side. It would clot the blood for now, but moving would cause it to bleed again. It would have to do.

“Damn that woman,” She muttered under her breath. 

Bangalore started running too.


	2. Dropship Woes

Dropship rides back from the battlefield were always tense. 

It was a confined space surrounded by the people Bangalore killed, or the teammates of those who didn’t survive the resurrection process. It was a poor, poor way to transport people from the on-site medical facility, but one that made for drama that the Syndicate loved to sell to the public. A once loud ship filled with 60 people itching to fight, now filled with 30 silent and itching for revenge; civvies ate that stuff right up.

The only people who didn’t deal with it were the champions, generously granted their own transport by sake of their own safety. Oh, how Bangalore would have loved to be on it at this moment, as she had seen the defeat of nearly half the people on this damned ship and it was clear they still were holding a grudge. The security guards posted by the pilot’s door certainly wouldn’t be able to stop the losers if they happened to band up together.

Bangalore acted unbothered towards the bullet casing that hit the side of her head, the third one in several minutes.

“You going to keep ignoring us, Kill Leader?” Some nameless FNG said, one barely worthy of the title of Apex Legend. She had found him separated 300 meters from his squad. Three bullets from her wingman put the solo dropper down. He hadn’t even the chance to pull out his own weapon.

“Yep,” she said, resting her chin on her palm. The joys of being one of the oldest legends in the games was that she had enough life experience to not give a damn about their pointless attempts to antagonize her. Bangalore had long since proven her pride.

That was the only comment made towards her for some time, but it didn’t stop discarded bullet casings from finding her head. A soft sting that served only to annoy her rather than make her feel any type of pain. Bangalore knew exactly what would happen if she retaliated: being the new hot topic on the Apex Forums and the news. With all the heat on her from being IMC, it was best to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible.

Her resolve almost came crashing down when the likes of Ajay Che took a seat next to her.

For the last hour she had heard her chatting with the other legends and laughing, healing away the injuries the medical personnel at the facility couldn’t. Bonding even with the ones that she had put down herself. It was almost insulting how blanant her intentions were, enough so that Bangalore almost guessed exactly what Lifeline would say to her before it even came out of her mouth.

“Thanks for keepin’ me busy.”

Grunting, Bangalore shrugged, “anytime.”

“You can at least show some sympathy, yeah? Ya ain’t tryna rip innocent people from their homes anymore,” and there it was, like a broken record. Lifeline couldn’t go a moment without bringing up her service to the IMC.

“I didn’t sign up to make friends.”

“It’s not about friends, it’s about not being a piece of shit,” Lifeline said.

Bangalore stood up from the metal bench she had been seated on, taking a few steps over to another empty one and taking a seat there. From her position she could see Lifeline in all her smug, angry glory wearing her field outfit, covered in dried blood she had spilled. 

‘ _ They don’t call me Lifeline because I save a life.’ _

“I’ve seen how you take out people. You are delusional to think that there’s only one piece of shit here,” Bangalore said. The way Lifeline’s face fell was glorious, but even better were the eyes that suddenly turned on her. The other legends may not have liked Bangalore as much as Lifeline, but they all knew that she had a certain mean streak that was unique. One had to have a certain amount of crazy in order to run around killing people with the same tools they used to save them.

The ship hit turbulence, rocking the cargo hold back and forth and forcing Bangalore to grab onto one of the hand railings to keep herself from falling. It put an end to the conversation for a good ten minutes, until the flight stabilized again and everything stopped shaking. She knew from experience that the turbulence meant they had passed over the mountains, closer now to the shipyard that would fly them out of the inhospitable planet of Talos.

Which meant another twenty minutes of Lifeline arguing with her.

“There’s a difference between takin’ people out and makin’ the effort to connect with them after the games, and takin’ people out and telling them ‘sucks to be you’ afterwards.” Lifeline said. 

Bangalore decided then that it wasn’t worth responding to her anymore. She didn’t need to plead her case. Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms across her chest and leaned back against the metal wall, staring up at the sky-view and willing the ship to go faster.

“I understand that it’s in the IMC’s nature to t’ink you’re better than everyone else, but ya not.

“Tell that to the 15 or so people I killed on this ship.”

Bangalore knew it was the wrong thing to say when she heard the shouting of the legends and the frantic efforts of the guards to get people under control. A smirk made its way onto her face as she watched the commotion, kicking her leg up over her knee. From the corner of her eyes she saw Lifeline glaring at her, hand clenched at her side.

‘She’s not going to-’

The fist that crashed across her jaw knocked the thought and the accompanying notion right out of her head. A throbbing pain bloomed across the side of her face. Bangalore fell back onto the bench, staring up in shock at Lifeline, then turning her gaze to the surveillance camera above, focused directly on them.

She could see the headlines now. ‘IMC vs Militia: Round 2?”

A painful pulse brought her back to reality. And with a hand on her cheek Bangalore realized two things: Ow, _that_ _hurt_ and that Lifeline has one hell of a punch. Bangalore willed her own fist to still, wanting desperately to put Lifeline in her place for laying a hand on her. It would solve nothing, though, and really she didn’t need more of a bad reputation by socking the most liked legend, no matter how much Lifeline deserved it.

With a huff, Bangalore lifted herself back into a seated position, rubbing her bruised jaw, “Catch a woman unaware, how very honorable of you.”

“You deserved it.” Lifeline scoffed, taking her seat back by the main sitting area. The commotion that had started before was quiet now; the legends were all focused on them. Either waiting for another move to be made or perhaps looking for an opening that would allow them to lay one out onto Bangalore. She stared hard at them, a silent challenge: ‘try me’. Predictably, no one rose up to it.

The drop ship rumbled and the intercoms announced their descent into the shipyard. As the bay doors opened and the legends began to filter out one by one Bangalore stayed behind. She never trusted leaving first.

“Ya coming?”

Lifeline was the last of them, and she stuck around by the bay door, hand on the threshold and her head inclined back towards her. Bangalore scoffed.

“I’ll leave when I’m ready,” she said.

Lifeline stared, “the lone wolf persona ya trying to fake won’t get ya very far in the games.”

“Got me far enough to get the kill leader bonus,”now, that was a sweet deal of money right there. Another couple thousand to add to the ‘return home’ fund she had set up.

“Yeah, sounds like yuh type: killing people for the money.”

Bangalore started. A mash of frustration and anger rose within her, but before she could even begin to think of a comeback Lifeline was gone, disappearing behind the threshold and heading out into the snowy landscape.

She sat there a moment longer, then stood up and stretched out her aching legs. Gingerly, she touched her jaw and hissed at the tender pain. 

_ Damn that woman _ .

It seemed like every encounter they had left her thinking that.


	3. Stumbling Away

Bangalore didn’t get drunk often.  
Or at least, that’s what she would tell people.

Truth was she sometimes found herself in the bottles more often than not, but she was getting better about it. She hadn’t been drunk in a month. It took her a while to realize she had a problem, that she was supplementing not wanting to deal with her trauma and emotions with the bitter taste of alcohol, but at least she had realized it. Not a lot of people were able to do that.

There was always that temptation though, in the social settings of Solace City and even at home where a good expensive bottle of scotch sat on her wine cabinet. She kept herself straight though, told herself the pounding headaches and vomiting wasn’t worth it and that, at her age, it was really quite embarrassing.

All that said, Ajay Che made her want to fucking drink again.

There was an after-party of sorts that always came after a game, not exactly set up by the Syndicate, but unofficially endorsed by them. It was a celebration of those who made it, and appreciating those who didn’t. Bangalore was surprised she even got invited to the things, and even more surprised that she usually ended up attending them half the time. It wasn’t like all the legends disliked her, but there were definitely more mean looks than friendly ones.

Alcohol flowed freely during these events and most of the legends ended up plastered by the end of it. Lifeline was only tipsy, but somehow it made her twenty times as annoying as she usually was.

That was an accomplishment of itself.

“So, yuh still mad ‘bout me euthanizing ya last game?”

Bangalore didn’t respond to the bait, sipping at her soda and wishing that it had some alcohol content to it. Lifeline sat next to her as close as she could possibly get without touching her. She was leaning on her stool, balancing herself on the steel counter. A part of Bangalore wanted to shove her back and watch her fall, but she had more dignity than to start a cat fight during an after party.

“No.” It was a cheap shot anyway. Catching her off guard while she was healing was an embarrassing way to get the top ten slot. Even more so that she couldn’t just shoot her in the head to finish her off and instead decided to inject her with whatever poison she had in those syringes.

“Aw, really? Even though it took you a little while to keel over?” Lifeline said, getting closer. Bangalore smelled cheap beer on her breath.

“I don’t hold grudges.”

“Except when it comes to colonists making homes on lands that are yours to exploit, right?”

“The war evolved from that by the time I went in.” Bangalore said. She finished off her soda and for a moment considered waving over the bartender for a shot of whatever was on the top shelf. She resisted the urge though. There were worse things she dealt with than being in Lifeline’s company. She could handle this.

“Why are ya so stubborn?” Lifeline sneered. She dropped the stool with a loud bang that went unnoticed amongst the loud conversation and music around them.

Bangalore shrugged, playing with the rim of her empty glass, “Once you tell me why you’re so insufferable, I’ll have an answer for you.”

Lifeline grunted, standing up and stumbling away from the bar, “whatever.”

A few steps had her swallowed within the crowd of bodies in the club. Bangalore was almost glad for the alone time, but that happened to be the longest interaction she’s had with a person in a while and, although the conversation was unpleasant, it still felt nice to be given some attention. The bartender eventually got back to her and Bangalore wasted no time ordering a cheap mug of beer.

The taste of the alcohol was bitter piss-water, and like always it made her crave more. But she was stronger than that and only finished half of it before she left money for the tab and headed out of the club.

The streets of Solace City were always crowded, but at least it wasn’t the club she had been in. Neon signs and advertisements lit her way down the large, paved sidewalks of the upper neighborhoods. Her apartment was an hour walk away--she really didn’t feel like spending the money for transportation-- within the lower sections of the neighborhoods that everyone around her, dressed in fancy synth-clothes and imported leathers, wouldn’t be caught dead in. Home was home though, even if it was on the cheaper side. At least the people down there were nicer.

Eventually as she was a block away from her home things quieted down and she was left alone with nothing but her thoughts and the sound of her boots clicking on the pavement. Neon signs gave way to dull billboards and posters. Large apartment towers replaced the skyscrapers that loomed over her. Various animals watched her from the alley way, wondering if she was going to feed them scraps again tonight.

In front of her, a rat stumbled towards the same steps that led up to her building and she knew that the peace would be broken.

“Lifeline.” 

Lifeline jumped, looking behind her. One look at her glazed eyes told Bangalore she was drunk, but nonetheless she kept her distance with her arms crossed. Lifeline stepped away from the door, wobbling back and forth. She held keys tightly in her hand.

“Help a girl with the door?” She asked. The grin that accompanied it was almost sheepish.

Bangalore was almost shocked at the request, but she chalked it up to Lifeline being a nice drunk and stepped over to open the door with her own set of keys. Out of the corner of her eyes she watched her. She didn’t trust she wouldn’t get a cheap shot on her while she was distracted. Lifeline clearly had no qualms doing that in the games.

Bangalore pushed the door open and walked in. She didn’t bother holding it for Lifeline, fully intending for it to close on her or, if she was lucky, hit her on the way in. But Lifeline followed closely after her and that petty revenge was thwarted.

“Yuh don’t drink.” Lifeline said matter-of-factly. Turning around, Bangalore could see she was regarding her somewhat curiously. “How come?”

“I left the nights of heavy drinking and partying back at the academy.”

She wished.

“Isn’t that forbidden?” Lifeline lightly teased. There was something gentle in her voice, an odd tone that made Bangalore want to relax from the alert state she was in, but still she couldn’t help but keep her eyes out for anything out of the ordinary. The lobby was empty and the room had barely hiding spots, but someone could be crouching behind the small computer desk in the center, or inside the little mailroom to the left of it.

Shifting to the side, Bangalore made sure she had her holster unlocked.

“Yeah, it was.”

“Who knew you could break the rules?”

“Who knew you could be nice?” Bangalore said, pushing the elevator button and willing the lift to come faster.

Lifeline scoffed, stumbling towards the wall beside Bangalore and leaning on it. It would have been smooth if she didn’t trip into it, “I’m too drunk to hold a grudge. I won’t ‘member this tomorrow.”

_ Beep _ .

Elevator doors opened and Bangalore stepped inside the small, musty compartment. Lifeline followed right behind her.

“Floor 9.”

Damn. That was her floor too.

Bangalore pressed the button and took a deep breath as the elevator began to move. News about the latest happenings in Solace City crackled through the old radio. It did nothing to cut through the awkward tension between them.

… Bangalore really wished she was drunk now.

“So… didn’t know yuh lived in this building.” Lifeline said after a few moments, apparently not able to stand the silence either.

“Yeah. Me neither.”

…

“You do well in the games. Military experience help yuh any?”

For a moment Bangalore thought it was a dig at her old occupation, but after a few seconds of considering the words, she realized that there was nothing malicious about the question. For once, Lifeline seemed to be genuine. She wasn’t sure if she appreciated it, or if it made her feel even more uncomfortable.

“Eh, military tactics don’t bode well in the games sometimes. Better to follow instincts.”

Lifeline let out a little scoff that Bangalore bristled at. She expected a taunt to follow, but it never came.

"Suppose ya 'ave a point. I know some of my medical training doesn't exactly work with the constraints they give on healing," Lifeline said. Bangalore was ready to question what she meant about that, but decided that it wouldn't be information she wanted to share anyway and instead let the conversation die then.  
  
Floor 3.

“Yuh can make eye contact, you know?”

Bangalore felt her face go hot. She had been standing at attention and staring hard at the elevator doors since the moment she got in. A glance towards Lifeline saw her amused smile and how she had taken a seat on top of the railings. Bangalore turned her gaze to the digital counter. Floor 5. Still an immeasurable amount of time to be stuck with this woman.

“You're pretty shy for someone that holds herself in such high regard.”

“I don’t see how those relate to each other.”

“Just like yuh don’t see how a medic that wants to help people is involved in a blood sport?”

Bangalore considered it, “I suppose those don’t have much relation either.”

"Very official too."

"Pardon?"

"Nothin', jus' wondering if you a robot. Don't ever think I've heard you talk casually; more like a academic or a walking encyclopedia of gun facts."  


And like that, Bangalore felt her face go hot again. She shifted her weight uncomfortably, "Just my upbringing. Gotta be concise in the military."

Lifeline let out a laugh just as the elevator beeped and the doors opened. She hopped out of it and stumbled out to the carpeted hallway. Then she paused in her tracks and turned to regard Bangalore. 

“I’m gonna go back to hating ya tomorrow, but for now, imma say that you aint a bad conversation.” Lifeline winked at her, then let out another laugh as she tripped and flustered her way down the hall.

Bangalore sat there, confused and slightly-embarrassed as to what was said, all up until the elevator doors closed on her and she remembered that this was her floor. Cursing, she punched the ‘open’ button and strode out of the cramped compartment.

“Damn that woman,” she muttered under her breath.

It was the most pleasant interaction she had in a long time.


	4. Reluctant Treatment

It was bad enough knowing that Lifeline lived in her apartment block; what was even worse was the fact that, in some sort of effect that probably had a scientific name to it, Bangalore saw Lifeline now constantly. Go for a run, there was Lifeline. Head to the apartment gym, there was Lifeline. Commute over to the firing range, boom! Lifeline. 

It was a rough night for Bangalore. Her sleep had been filled with nightmares of her past and the incident with her brother, so when she headed out of her apartment in the morning to go for her jog, the last thing she wanted to see was Lifeline.

Of course, god wouldn’t let _that_ one happen, because there was Lifeline outside of the apartment in all her pink pajama’d, rabbit-slippered glory, scrolling through her interface with a- is that a guinea pig on a leash?

“Am I seeing things right or do I need more coffee?” Bangalore blurted out before she could stop herself. Mentally she kicked herself as the last thing she wanted was a conversation with Lifeline, but it was too late to walk back into the building now; Lifeline was already turning towards her. For once, she didn’t look like she was staring at someone who killed her parents and then ate her dog; her face was somewhat stoic this time.

“What? Got a problem?” Lifeline said it as if having a small rodent on a leash was nothing out of the ordinary. Every rational part of Bangalore told her to go back into the apartment, or start her run now and ignore the woman, but curiosity won over all of that and found herself pulling her headphones out to have a longer chat. Screw it, their last conversation had been somewhat civil. Maybe Sober Lifeline could learn a thing or two from the drunk one.

“Just wondering why you have a rare, exotic animal on a leash.”

Lifeline scoffed, bending down to scoop the little guinea pig up. He wheeked in protest and struggled, before settling down as Lifeline held him close to her chest.

“Dis one is spoiled rotten and likes to go in the grass rather than the litter box.”

“You have more?”

“Of course, I’m not a monster, they’re supposed to be kept in pairs,” Lifeline said as if it were common knowledge. She scratched the guinea pig on his head, “if this apartment doesn’t allow dogs or cats, then I’m getting piggies.”

Bangalore frowned, hooking her headphones around her neck, “Those things are thousands credits each.”

Lifeline rolled her eyes, “leave it to the IMC soldier to dictate what someone on the Frontier gets to do with their life.”

Ah, back to the digs at her past.

“What’s its name?” Bangalore tried to steer it back to civil conversation. It got her a suspicious look in turn, and Lifeline held the guinea pig a little closer, as though Bangalore would want to go up and steal the damn rodent. She didn’t even like animals in the first place.

“ _His_ name is Stewart, and _we’re_ done wit’ tha conversation. See ya in the ring, Bangalore.” Lifeline pushed past her, heading for the door that led inside their block.

Anita turned to her, “What happened? I thought I wasn’t a bad conversation?”

Ajay paused in her attempt to leave. She spun around so fast that Bangalore felt a mild gust of air blow across her body. It would have made her laugh if not for the angry look on Lifeline’s face. Great, now she’s started it.

“Yuh not. I pay compliments to anyone with a pulse when I’m drunk. Ya ain’t special and ya never will be. Ya just another faceless soldier that took part in ruining lives while claiming that being in the military is a personality.”

With that, she opened the door and slammed it shut behind her, leaving Bangalore in the early morning dark and cold air.

Bangalore blinked, staring at the spot that Lifeline had just been standing in. That… hurt. She didn’t exactly know why, but it did. Maybe because the insult this time was more of a poke at her character than her occupation. Sure, sometimes the insults got personal, but that was a bit uncalled for. Bangalore shook it off, sighing as she placed her headphones in her ears and stretched out. She started her timer and began her run through the complex. Her thoughts drowned themselves in the music blaring into her ears, but that bit of her hurt remained.

—

Next time Bangalore saw Lifeline was because she had to go to the infirmary.

Malfunctioning charge rifle at the firing range. Didn’t help that the FNG who shot it didn’t know proper firing range protocol and swung his weapon around while he went to get more ammo. One beam of white hot energy went through her thigh because _of course_ she happened to be standing there and now she was limping towards a bed. The injury was an inch away from being fatal, her femoral artery thankfully intact, but blood still seeped out at a steady rate and soaked into the sheets beneath her. 

“God damn my shit luck,” Bangalore muttered. She was shaking and sweating , and she could see that she had gone a shade lighter. Her body wanted her to go into shock, but the syringe she had administered kept that reaction from happening. The pain was still god awful though. Where was the fucking doctor?!

“Alright, what we got- oh hell no!” 

Oh, great.

Lifeline stood at the door, dressed in scrubs and holding her D.O.C under her arm. From the look on her face she looked less than happy to see Bangalore in the bed, but it quickly became a mask of professionalism as she approached the foot of it anyway and started examining her thigh.

“What happened?”

“Damn amateurs is what fucking happened!” Bangalore snapped. The hands that were clutching her thigh were quickly smacked away and Lifeline caressed it instead, looking at it from all sides.

“Can ya get ya pants off or do I need to cut them?”

A part of Bangalore appreciated the calm collectedness Lifeline was expressing at the moment. No digs, no insults, just a doctor treating their patient. Bangalore didn’t know she had it in her. Lifting her hips off the bed she shimmied her pants down to her ankles, hissing as the blood soaked cloth grated against the open wound. Still, there’s no way in hell she would let Lifeline get close to her with a pair of scissors. Even if she was a medic.

“Energy weapon?”

“Charge rifle,” Bangalore grunted.

Lifeline brought her D.O.C over. From a dispenser on its side she pulled out a few wipes and cleaned the blood from her thigh. Bangalore knew what was coming next, but it didn’t help her prepare for the surge of pain when Lifeline wiped the wound with the sterilizer next.

“ _Fuck!”_

“Deep breaths, ya got this,” Lifeline muttered, focused on her work. She paused for a moment, hazel eyes flickering up to Bangalore’s brown ones, “this means nothing, I am morally and legally obligated to give medical attention to everyone.”

“Aw, I thought you were finally asking me out.” Bangalore said sarcastically.

Was… was that a blush?

Bangalore had no time to dwell on it. Lifeline wiped her thigh with the sterilizer again and fiery pain exploded through her quad, a shout ripping from her lips. That was definitely on purpose. A short whistle called D.O.C back over and he plugged his cable into her thigh, pulsing medicine into her.. It would be enough to mend the deep parts of the wound, but not the surface level. That would need stitching. 

“Like I’d be caught dead with someone like ya,” Lifeline scoffed. From a side panel on D.O.C, she retrieved a needle and suture. A quick wipe with the third rag in her hands yielded a numbing agent, and Lifeline got to work. Bangalore watched the swiftness of the stitchings. She couldn’t quite decide if it was pure skill, or Lifeline trying to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

But, even with all that was going on, Bangalore was a little too focused by how close Lifeline’s hand was to her inner thigh. Mhm, it had been a while. She elected to never sleep with fans like some legends did, and she was far too prideful to go find a hookup in the Paradise Lounge or on a site specifically made for it. This contact, as slight as it was, is the most Bangalore's gotten in a while. No harm in enjoying it while it was there, even if it was from a woman she didn’t particularly like.

In a few minutes, the hole in her leg had become a distant memory and bandages were being applied with gentle, deft hands. Each graze of her fingers against the skin of her thigh had Bangalore feeling more and more heated, and soon the simple enjoyment of the contact became something more desirous. Lifeline wasn’t an unattractive woman by any means; she had been a bit of eye candy back when Bangalore first joined the games. Any desire had dissipated due to her bad attitude though. The fact that it was showing up again meant that Bangalore really, _really_ needed to get laid.

“All patched up. Don’t shoot yuhself in the damn leg again,” Lifeline said, patting her thigh too hard for it to be friendly.

“What? I told you someone else did,” Bangalore said.

Like her gun safety could ever be called into question.

Lifeline shrugged and stood up, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back on her D.O.C, “Whatever makes ya feel better.”

“You really think I’m that stupid? Only people I met that were that bad with guns were all from the Frontier.”

It was Ajay’s turn to bristle.

“As if! Yuh IMC only knew how to shoot non-combatants and people who were already down. Guess they make good target practice, huh?”

“What? We never-”

But Lifeline was already walking away, D.O.C underneath her arms, “Yuh cured, get out of my office.”

And just like that, the desire that had previously returned for Lifeline had gone away once more, and Bangalore was reminded of why she absolutely abhorred her. She would never be dumb enough to sleep with someone that crazy, no matter how long it’s been. The bed creaked as she stood up and a throbbing pain shot through her leg. Bangalore let out a grunt. Crutches would have been nice, or maybe some damn pain medication to take the edge off. She fumbled her way through the on-site clinic and out into the hot sun of Solace.

“ _Damn that woman!_ ”


	5. Friendly Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the loooong break. I had a lot of stuff come up! Hopefully there won't be another huge gap like this.

The sun slowly set over the arena of King’s canyon, casting a glare in the building they holed themselves up in. Wattson danced around the room, humming as she fenced up every last entrance into the little storage unit. The ring was at its third smallest state, and there were five squads left. At this part of the games, no one wanted to get into a fight first. They would all prefer to camp it out, and though she typically wasn’t a fan of playing defensively it was the better option. Bangalore slid down the wall, tucking her Wingman into a holster and setting her R-301 down on her lap, removing the mag. Across from her Lifeline was performing maintenance on her D.O.C, who had been shot earlier that day. 

Bangalore cast a glance at the interface on her wrist. 3 kills. Sneering she retrieved a bore brush from her kit and started to clean the R-301. She knew that Lifeline was sitting at a hefty 6, and that was all from getting the last shot on people whose armors Bangalore had broken down. It wasn’t like Lifeline needed that kill leader bonus; like most Frontiermen, she probably spent it on drugs and parties.

“Hey, Wattson,” She called out. Wattson hummed as she dropped her hands down on a fence post, charging it. Her attention was half-focused on Bangalore, far too absorbed in her work at the moment.

“Oui?” She answered absently.

“See anyone while you were fencing?”

Wattson looked out the window and then back at her with a shrug of her shoulders, “I see caustic traps in a building, but no Dr.Caustic.”

Ugh, the psychopath made it to the final rings? That would spell trouble for them unless they could lure him out. Bangalore said as much, drawing a scoff from Lifeline in the corner.

“Maybe yuh should offer yuhself up for the job, get some honor wit’ it. ‘Less yuh wanna send a civvie in? Wouldn’t be out of character for the IMC.” Lifeline said, applying a metal patch on D.O.C’s side.

Bangalore was half-expecting the insult, so she let it roll off her shoulders, paying far more attention to Wattson, “I know the bottom of those barrels disable the traps, but you got to get close to them to shoot.”

“It is better to set them off, no? His teammates won’t be able to see, and he can’t set up new ones,” Wattson suggested.

Bangalore pursed her lips, glancing out the window. The building he holed up in was small and none of the windows were open. It would take a long time to vent out the gas; more than enough time for him to set up again. Caustic knew playing in a building was his strong suit, and the only way they could push him outside was with grenades.

“Got anything useful in that pack of yours, Che?”

Lifeline looked up from her D.O.C suspiciously. She set her wrench down. “Why?”

“Need some grenades.”

“Then jus’ say that. Course I got useful shit in ‘ere.” Lifeline grunted as she started searching through the large pouch on her side, gently pushing D.O.C to the side. She tossed a few things out of the bag, rummaging through it until she furrowed her eyebrows in a way that made Bangalore grind her teeth.

“Don’t tell me none of us picked up a damn grenade,” Bangalore said.

Lifeline glared at her, flipping the cover back on the bag, “Yuh didn’t? Thought you would look far enough ahead for that.”

“I used them all during the last fight. You know, so you could rush in and take the kill credit.” Bangalore said.

Lifeline’s hazel eyes ignited with fury. “Don’t be petty! We’re a team, it doesn’t matter who killed who!”

Wattson cringed, holding her hands over her ears, “No fighting, you two, please. I don’t need the noise; I need to focus.”

The request went unnoticed as Bangalore sneered. It was rich that Lifeline was bringing up teamwork when she did everything in her power to exclude Bangalore from feeling like a part of the team.

“Right, so that’s why you got off your guy so you could rush in and finish off the squad, because you thought I needed help.”

“He was as good as dead! And yuh were getting lit up. Why the hell does it matter to yuh so much?”

Bangalore rolled her eyes, “With a bonus on the line? It matters a lot!”

“Don’t yuh get enough bonuses from the IMC for killin’ people?” I doubt yuh need more.”

Bangalore shot up, R-301 clattering to the floor, “No, I don’t! I’m not even with the IMC anymore.”

Lifeline got up as well and wasted no time getting close to Bangalore so she could shove her back. Even with Bangalore being a good 8 inches and 60 pounds larger than her she still stumbled back into the racks behind her, boxes and tins falling onto the floor. Lifeline was stronger than she looked.

“Then why does it matter to yuh?! Yuh just in these damn games to kill people.”

Bangalore growled, pushing herself away from the racks so she could shove Lifeline as well, “I have my reasons for being here and it's not that!”

“You two, stop! Please!” Wattson shouted. She hidden herself far in the corner near a door, both arms wrapped around her head.

“Don’t yuh shove me!” Lifeline shouted.

“Don’t shove me then!”

“Guys-”

Lifeline lunged for Bangalore, catching her off guard with a fist to the cheek. Bangalore’s head snapped to the side and she found herself stumbling back into the racks again, a few items falling and hitting her shoulders on the way down. Enraged, Bangalore seized Lifeline by the shoulders and whirled her into the racks, sending both them and her falling onto the floor with a loud crash. Wattson’s cries for them to stop went unheard as the two women started to grapple each other, trying to get an upper hand that would allow them to land a few hits on the other. One cross from Bangalore left Lifeline’s cheek swollen. A well-placed kick had Bangalore doubled over and coughing.

“STOP!” 

The command went unheeded as months worth of tension and anger finally boiled over in an explosive fight. Bangalore was far stronger than Lifeline, able to easily pin her down and punch her far-too-smug face. The release of finally doing so felt amazing; an addicting feeling that Bangalore couldn’t shake off as she continued to land punch after punch on Lifeline’s forearms, drawn up to protect her head.

Lifeline grabbed a hold of her arm suddenly, throwing her hips to the side and switching positions to mount Bangalore instead. Her hand went for the gun holstered at Bangalore’s side, drawing the p2020 free and brandishing it against her forehead.

“I’m doin’ everyone a favor.”

The shot that rang out had Wattson falling to the floor with a cry, holding her bleeding thigh. Lifeline instinctively ducked her head, giving Bangalore the opening she needed to wrap her arm around her neck and throw her off. Immediately she rushed for her discarded R-301 and pressed herself against the wall. She searched for the mag on her chest, previously taken out before she cleaned the gun. Her eyes widened and she swore once she realized it had ended up somewhere on the floor. Lifeline took her place by her side, pumping the trigger of her havoc to keep it warmed up.

Bangalore switched to her wingman, “How many, Wattson?!”

Wattson didn’t answer, pale and shaking as she dragged herself backwards, leaving a bloody trail on the floor. The sound of a door breaking drew Bangalore’s attention to behind them. She fired two shots through the now open door, hopefully deterring anyone from coming in.

“Cover me, I need D.O.C” Lifeline said. Without waiting for affirmation she rushed towards the robot. Gritting her teeth, Bangalore swept the two entrances with her gun, fully aware that the entrances in the other room could be breached at any time. Lifeline grabbed hold of the robot and made a break for Wattson, tossing the robot to her side as she grabbed one of its cables.

The door behind them broke open and several bullets disabled the fence guarding the door. Gibraltar stepped in, orange gun shield up as he took aim at Lifeline and Wattson. A wide grin was plastered across his face.

“Sorry to break up the party, bruddas! I’ll buy you two drinks after we win!”

Bangalore started to sprint before her mind could catch up. She crashed against Lifeline with her shoulder, sending her to the floor and allowing the bullets meant for her to pierce her body armor. Each small strike stole the breath out of her lungs and made her ribs ache with a fiery throb. Bangalore was barely able to pull up her arms and fire at an alarmed Gibraltar. The skull-piercer hop-up rendered his helmet to shards, and the second bullet had him sliding down the wall, the pacemaker on his chest glowing red to indicate a potential ‘revive’. A blue shield obscured the view in front of her. Bangalore glanced back. Lifeline was working on Wattson again, plugging the chord into her thigh and giving D.O.C the go to start pumping its medicines. They caught eyes after a moment. Lifeline gave her a nod.

“Thanks.” Lifeline said, looking away.

Bangalore swallowed, throat going dry as she spotted the bruise on her cheek. 

“I got you.”

—

One final shot rendered Caustic dead. Bangalore breathed out, dropping the wingman and trying to fight back a grin.

‘WE HAVE OUR APEX CHAMPIONS’

She glanced back towards Wattson and Lifeline, who were celebrating over the pile of disarmed traps. Wattson grabbed hold of her rubber coif and threw it into the air, freeing her shaggy blonde hair. She immediately scrambled to grab hold of Lifeline’s legs as the woman jumped on her back.

“Take that fart man!”

“Such disrespect for Dr.Caustic!” Wattson laughed, bending down so Lifeline could safely drop down from her back. She retrieved her rubber coif and pulled it over her head again, shooting a small smile at Bangalore after catching her eyes. She returned it, heading over towards her teammates.

“Serves him right for sending Gibraltar and Mirage after us. Man cares about no one but himself.” Bangalore said.

Lifeline glanced towards her, lips pursed like she wanted to say something. Bangalore knew she had set herself up for an insult, but surprisingly Lifeline didn’t rise to the opportunity, instead smiling at her briefly before turning her attention away. That was… surprising. Bangalore chalked it down to her being in a good mood from victory. 

“Good job you two, making me proud,” Bangalore added. Wattson grinned, clapping her hands together. Lifeline shrugged her shoulders.

“Eh, it’s nothing.”

She tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes at that. If that was the best she was going to get, then so be it. Bangalore wouldn’t let anything sour the victory they had earned. It's been awhile since she heard herself be called champion.

‘Damn that woman, she can wallow in her pity party all she wants.’

Even as she said the words in her head, Bangalore didn’t quite believe them. Something was wrong and she knew it was probably because of the fight they had gotten into. The best thing to do would be to apologize, but Bangalore couldn’t even attempt to swallow her pride enough for that. Instead she took a seat on the grass and stretched out her legs. It would take a while before the drop ship arrived.

Wattson took a seat next to her, still smiling broadly. Footsteps behind them made Bangalore tense up instinctively.

Lifeline took a seat on her other side.

Alarmed, Bangalore glanced towards her, but Lifeline was staring off into the night sky, leaning abc on her palms. A glance to her side showed that Wattson was doing the same. Breathing out, she relaxed back onto her palms and stared ahead at the single deathbox in the field. If Lifeline hadn’t thrown the grenades she got off Gibraltar's body, they never would have got him out.

“Damn that man.” Bangalore said aloud. She let out a laugh afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be mostly sporadic; I'll post as ideas come to me.


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